Gordon's Stowaway
by AaronCottrell97
Summary: Gordon makes fun of Dilly the duck, saying animals do not help to run a railway. One winter's day, while visiting the Mainland, Gordon feels a scrabbling under his tender. The next day, while resting, Gordon discovers just what that scrabbling was; a cat. A cat that proves to be quite useful.


Dilly the Duck lives at Tidmouth Halt on the Little Western. She has been a particular favourite of Donald and his crew ever since they met her so long ago. She is known as "Donald's Duck," among many others on Sodor and had become a mother with ducklings of her own, as Emily had found out when she was helping Donald at Arlesburgh.

Gordon, of course knew all about Dilly, but being the engine that he was, he thought she was beneath his dignity.

"Donald's Duck indeed," he said to Oliver one day. "Animals are all very well in their place, but they don't help to run a railway at all. I would not approve a duck watching us at Knapford. It's beneath me."

"Don't be so self-absorbed, Gordon!" Oliver retorted. "The passengers like her and she inspects all the parcels and luggage. And she sees that the porters load them properly into the vans!"

"You don't understand, Oliver," Gordon sniffed. "We Main Line engines have a responsibility to maintain. I can't speak for branch lines, but the Fat Controller runs a railway, not a zoo. As Dilly goes, that just says more about the Little Western's staff. To need an animal to help them do their jobs with passenger's luggage and watching the porters, it's…it's…well, it's not the proper thing."

And Gordon set off again, leaving Oliver mildly annoyed.

The next morning, Gordon felt a chilly nip in the air. Winter had arrived and was covering the island in frost. At this time of year, the express was always fuller and busier than ever. By this time, Gordon was more appreciative of Rebecca helping him with it. Every day, when Gordon and Rebecca delivered passengers to Vicarstown, Flying Scotsman would be waiting to take some of their passengers on his train through England and Scotland.

Today, however, when Gordon arrived at Knapford Station for the express, the Fat Controller came by with some news.

"Gordon, I have an important job for you. Flying Scotsman is busy pulling a special rail tour on the Mainland. He can't collect your passengers from Vicarstown. So, you'll have to take your passengers all the way to London, where another engine will take your train to Edinburgh. You'll have to spend the night in London and return with a full express early next morning."

Gordon was suddenly excited. He had not been to London for a long time. Not since he had to take the passengers to King's Cross after the express engine derailed, only to find he ended up at St. Pancreas station instead.

"Thank you, sir. I'd like a good long run to stretch my wheels," he said.

Just then, Rebecca came by with her own express coaches. Gordon told her everything.

"I must be off for London, Rebecca. Can you look after the express by yourself until tomorrow?"

"Of course, Gordon," said Rebecca. "I'll keep your passengers happy."

Gordon whistled and was on his way for London, while Rebecca got busy pulling the express.

As Gordon huffed across the island, he felt rather proud. He was glad he wouldn't have to deal with Flying Scotsman's brotherly teasing, especially after Rebecca spoke up for him after she caused confusion without delay.

_"That was very good of you, Rebecca,"_ Gordon thought to himself. _"Most noble for a lady to do."_

Gordon arrived at Vicarstown and sped right through, on towards Vicarstown Bridge and across it, and off onto the Mainland, bound for London. The weather was slowly, but surely getting colder. Winter was indeed coming closer and closer, but Gordon pressed on, excited to see London and King's Cross again, even though he ended up at St. Pancreas Station the last time. Gordon huffed further and further, on into the night across England, his wheels humming surely along the line and white smoke billowing from his funnel into the night air.

At long last, Gordon arrived at King's Cross Station, tired, but triumphant, where another engine was ready to take his passengers to Edinburgh. Soon after his coaches were shunted away, Gordon found an empty shed to sleep in. He was exhausted and all too ready to rest.

"We'll be out early tomorrow morning, Gordon," said his driver. "Get all the rest you can. You have done well."

Gordon said nothing as he fell asleep, while his driver and fireman found a place to spend the night. Shortly after Gordon fell asleep, it started to snow steadily. Large snowflakes fell surely out of the sky and all over the railway.

Early the next morning, Gordon's crew returned to wake him up. When Gordon opened his eyes and looked outside the shed, he saw that it was still dark as night, and a blanket of snow had spread across the yard.

"It's been a slight heavy fall, Gordon," said his driver. "It won't be long before the snow reaches Sodor."

Gordon's fire was soon started, and he arrived at the platform at King's Cross and fetched his coaches, waiting in the cold for his passengers. Gordon shivered in the bitter cold air and wished he could get moving to make himself warm again.

But then, just as the guard's whistle blew and the signal dropped to green, Gordon thought he could feel a scrabbling sensation under his tender, but he didn't have to time to worry about that. He was too keen to get warm again. Off he steamed out of the station, as quickly as he could on his long journey home through the dark morning. With such a full express, his coaches were rather heavy, but he did not care. Working harder made him feel warmer against the cold anyway.

Some hours later, as dawn began to break with the sunrise, Gordon saw Vicarstown Bridge and crossed over, back to Sodor. He was relieved that the snow had not arrived yet. He stopped at Vicarstown and let off some of his passengers, then set off again for Knapford where he could end his long journey and have a very well-deserved rest.

But then, as Gordon approached the line that would lead to Tidmouth Sheds, he began to feel the scrabbling again.

"What on Earth is that?" he asked aloud. But as he had spoken, he looked ahead and was shocked to see Rebecca rolling toward the Main Line. Her controls had been meddled with and she had burst out through Emily's berth, now very close to crashing into Gordon!

_"Oh, no! Get out of my way!"_ Gordon thought.

"Please help me!" Rebecca cried as she shut her eyes and waited for the crash, whimpering with fright.

But suddenly, Gordon saw her driving wheels spring up off the rails and she stopped where she was, just inches away from Gordon's line.

"Watch out, Rebecca!" he called as he thundered past. He was so surprised at what he had seen, he didn't notice it was the trap-points that saved them until he returned to Knapford. By then, he forgot about the scrabbling once again.

Then the Fat Controller came onto the platform. "Gordon!" he exclaimed. "Thank goodness for those trap-points back there. You were lucky to have avoided an accident with Rebecca."

"Trap-points?" said Gordon. "Then what was Rebecca doing out there? She almost crashed into me!"

"One of the workmen told me that she had no driver and had crashed out through Emily's berth after the firelighter meddled with her controls…apparently."

"Oh, the Indignity!" said Gordon.

"You're quite right actually, Gordon," said the Fat Controller. "It is most indignant for a firelighter to be so meddlesome. In the meantime, you must rest, Gordon. You have had a long journey."

After Gordon's coaches were shunted away, he went off to find a siding to rest in, thinking about Rebecca and the trap-points. It was slightly warmer than the day before and Gordon felt better to be back on Sodor. He soon found a siding beside a workmen's hut and fell asleep, while his driver and fireman left for a well-deserved break.

For a few hours, Gordon slept well after such a long, hard journey to London and back again. But then, he was awoken by a loud squawking sound.

"Uhh! Oh! What is that?" Gordon exclaimed.

His answer was right beside him. The workmen from the hut had thrown scraps of their lunch out the window, and there was a party of sparrows arguing nosily over them, pecking each other, flapping their wings, and making such a racket.

Gordon was cross at being woken up so loudly. "Go away, you little pests!" he barked.

The birds took no notice, making Gordon even more cross. He desperately wanted to blow smoke or hiss them away, but without a driver, there was little he could do. Then suddenly, something flew past his smokebox, making the sparrows scatter and fly away in alarm. Gordon looked to the ground. There, crouching low, where the sparrows had been…was a small ginger and white cat!

"Meow! Yeow!" said the cat as it kept its eye on the frightened sparrows in the air.

Gordon was most surprised, but very grateful to the cat for scaring off the sparrows. The cat suddenly turned to Gordon and had a friendly look in its eyes. It meowed happily at Gordon and settled on the ground, eating the scraps of meat and sandwich the workmen had thrown away.

When everything had been eaten, the cat then came up to Gordon and hopped onto his buffer beam, licking its paws and preening itself. The sparrows tweeted noisily after being robbed of their lunch, but they kept a good distance away.

"Thank you…little one," Gordon managed to smile at the cat. It looked at Gordon, purring quietly.

Eventually, Gordon's driver and fireman returned from their break to get back to work with Gordon. They stopped and stood still when they saw the cat on Gordon's buffer beam.

"Goodness me!" laughed his driver. "Look at this lovely cat!"

"Yes," said the fireman. "I remember hearing a scrabbling sound in Gordon's tender. It must have stowed away in there on the Mainland during the night. I thought I had seen something moving, but didn't have time to look properly."

Gordon's driver picked up the cat. "It's a girl," he said.

"What shall we name her?" asked the fireman.

"Hmm…I think Tabitha would work."

"Yes! Hello, Tabitha!" said the fireman. Gordon's driver and fireman spent quite some time, taking turns holding Tabitha, petting her and caressing her. They were making quite a fuss of her.

"Well she'll need looking after," said Gordon. "Who can do that, I wonder?"

"For now, you shall, Gordon," said his driver.

"W-What?" Gordon asked as his driver carried Tabitha to the cab. Gordon sighed and set off to do some work for the day. But secretly, he really liked Tabitha already. After she scared off the sparrows, Gordon didn't mind having a little stowaway of his own. He suddenly remembered what he had said about Dilly and about zoos and he decided to take some of those words back. Maybe having an animal would be quite nice. Especially with what would happen that evening.

When evening came, Rebecca returned to the sheds and looked at Emily's berth. She could now see leftover splinters of wood and glass where the doors once lay, and had been nervous all day about it. How would she explain this to the engines and the Fat Controller? Soon, she heard all the engines returning on their own lines. Gordon, James, Percy, Thomas, Emily, Nia and the Fat Controller all arrived. Thomas and Emily came back side by side, having enjoyed their night at Knapford and their day's work. But then Emily gasped. The other engines gasped too, staring at Emily's berth, while Rebecca's face turned anxiously red.

"The…the sheds!" exclaimed Percy. "Emily's berth!"

"Cinders and Ashes, what happened?" Emily exclaimed with shock. "My shed doors are gone!"

Rebecca gasped and felt awful. "Oh, dear!" she lamented. "I'm so sorry, Emily. I was all alone last night, and I felt like sleeping in a berth other than my own. The firelighter came…and then some time later, I suddenly started moving and crashed right through the berth with no driver to help me! I was lucky the trap-points were there to stop me from hitting Gordon. You were right that those points really are useful, Emily…but please, I hope you won't mind the cold too much!"

Emily was disappointed about her shed doors, but didn't want Rebecca to feel bad. But the other engines did mind the cold.

"Oh, dear! It's certain to be cold in there!" Nia worried, remembering the cold feeling of snow at the Himalayan Mountains.

"Too chilly for me! I have to take the mail sometime tonight!" Percy worried.

"You didn't mean to run away, Rebecca," said Thomas. "But you're right it's gonna be cold."

"Uhh! Come on!" James huffed annoyingly. "All the cold has been coming through Emily's berth all day, and we didn't know! The sheds will surely be freezing now!"

"Most impressive," Gordon said sarcastically. "You should take more care, Rebecca! Very indignant!"

"James, Gordon, don't be so rude!" the Fat Controller ordered. "It's alright, Rebecca. I heard what happened and no engine can help it if their controls are meddled with. I've made sure that the firelighter was punished for his silly idea. And don't worry, Emily. I have some workmen building new shed doors right now. But they'll have to wait until tomorrow. You'll all have to manage for tonight."

The other engines sighed at the inevitable drafty night they knew awaited them as they made their way into their berths. As they expected, they felt little to no difference in temperature. They'd have to manage it through the night. At least the sheds would be warm again the next evening.

Emily backed inside her berth, looking at the splinters of wood and glass on both sides. She looked at Rebecca, who looked very sorry and worried. Emily gave her a tiny smile of sympathy and understanding. But suddenly, in the quiet of the sheds, as Emily settled on her rails, she thought she heard a little squeak. She froze where she was and did not make a sound, looking in all directions, her heart beating rather heavily, then just as she heard another squeak, she looked down.

"A MOUSE!" Emily screamed. "Aah! Mice!"

All the engines, and the Fat Controller looked in her direction. Suddenly, six or seven more mice scurried into Emily's sight, squeaking frantically. They had clearly found their way inside the sheds and were looking for shelter from the cold.

All the engines, even Thomas felt quite uncomfortable with mice in the shed. He remembered when Alicia Botti found a mouse inside Clarabel, then that mouse lived in Tidmouth Sheds for a while. Thomas had named her Alicia too, but that was many years ago, before Tidmouth Sheds had been demolished. Since her lifespan was over, this was different. Other than Alicia, Thomas didn't like mice too much, and didn't like what he saw right now.

"Mice?! Good Heavens!" Rebecca gasped. "Oh, dear!"

"MICE! MICE! Everywhere!" Emily wheeshed, letting off steam with alarm.

"Definitely a coloratura," said Gordon.

Emily was cross. "A cold shed is one thing! That, I wouldn't mind, but I can't POSSIBLY sleep in a shed riddled with mice!"

The Fat Controller was very embarrassed and Rebecca felt even more sorry for Emily. Suddenly, Tabitha jumped right out of Gordon's cab, ran outside the sheds and bolted into Emily's berth.

"What's this?" gasped Emily.

Tabitha crouched and hissed fiercely at the mice, making them scurry away from Emily. But Tabitha was fast and agile, cornering the mice away from where they ran, and chasing them all out of Emily's berth. As all the mice scurried away from the sheds and out of sight, Tabitha hissed once more before she ran back to Gordon and jumped on his buffer beam.

Gordon saw everything and was quite impressed. "Good girl, my little friend," he grinned. Tabitha looked at Gordon and meowed pleasantly.

Nia, knowing so much about animals was the first to speak. "Who is this lovely cat, Gordon?"

"She saved my berth!" Emily gasped.

"She saved the sheds!" Rebecca added.

"This, ladies, is my stowaway. Her name is Tabitha," said Gordon. He told them all about his little discovery in the yards with the sparrows and how Tabitha kept him company. All the engines were surprised, but very grateful.

"Goodness! Thank you, Tabitha!" Emily smiled, feeling much better.

"Yes, thank you, Tabitha," Nia and Rebecca added.

"Well done, Tabitha," Thomas beamed. "You sure made Emily feel safe in a hurry!"

"Well, I must say, that is a very fine cat," said the Fat Controller. "If you like, Gordon, she can stay here tonight and keep a lookout for mice."

"Can she?" Gordon asked. He suddenly turned red with joy. "Oh…Thank you, sir!"

"That's good," Emily smiled. "It may be cold tonight, but until tomorrow with the new shed doors, we'll sleep quite well, knowing you're keeping watch, Tabitha."

And so that night, Tabitha kept watch in the sheds, looking out for any more mice to chase away. The sheds were indeed cold, but the engines didn't mind too much. Their boilers stayed warm for some time, and they all really enjoyed Tabitha's presence and watch duty. Every now and then, some of the engines would wake up to see Tabitha either keeping watch, or resting on Gordon's buffer beam when she wanted a rest.

Rebecca and Nia glimpsed Tabitha with a smile, who twitched her tail and purred as she walked by them. James couldn't help but chuckle gleefully as Tabitha went by him.

Thomas and Percy whispered to her. "Hello, Tabitha. Good cat." Tabitha meowed back at them as she kept checking for mice.

Then Tabitha turned to Emily. As her berth had no doors at the moment, she was looking at the beautiful nighttime scenery outside. Then she heard a meow and looked down to see Tabitha standing there.

"Mice?" Emily whispered.

Tabitha walked steadily beside Emily, all the way to behind her tender, and around the other side until she returned to Emily's front. Tabitha then hopped up onto Emily's running plate and twitched her tail.

"No mice. Thanks, Tabitha," Emily smiled.

Tabitha meowed and rubbed herself on Emily's face, purring happily. Then when Emily fell asleep, Tabitha hopped down and returned to Gordon, hopping up on his running plate and hunkering down to rest. Gordon opened his eyes and saw her resting there. He looked at the shed ceiling in silence. And in spite of what he said about Dilly and zoos, he was very glad to see his stowaway.

"Goodnight, Tabitha. My dear little friend," he smiled. And he and Tabitha fell asleep together with the rest of the engines.

* * *

This was an annual story that always fascinated me ever since I first heard of it, and I only heard the full story for the first time a few weeks ago thanks to the SiF narration that was released awhile ago. And I decided to have this tie into "Rebecca's Near Miss" because both of the original stories specified that Gordon was away on the Mainland, so I decided to combine them together. Anyway, the next story will be yet another adaptation, but this time it's actually an adaptation of "The Great Snowstorm of Sodor" from the Thomas Creator Collective, so look forward to that. As always, I hoped you enjoyed this story and leave your reviews. See ya.


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